Childish Antics
by Bestogoddess
Summary: After a quest gone wrong reverses the CPUs ages, they are forced to take their time in aging naturally. (A series of cute one-shots about each of the 4 CPUs and their time in getting back to normal)
1. A Prologue of Sorts

Neptune touched down onto the ground outside the forest, being the very last to arrive of the CPUs. She approached the entrance, deactivating her HDD in the process as the other 3 impatiently waited.

"Whew, that was sooo tiring. I wish I could have just stayed home, but Histy was all like "You can't just sit around all day. Go do some work for your nation and stop being lazy _".

None of them reacted. It would have been surprising if she had shown up on time, after all. Still, Noire was the first to say anything.

"Do you have any idea how long we have been waiting for you here?"

Nep took a moment to think this over, considering the time when she got the message.

"I'm gonna take a lucky guess and say 5 minutes. Am I right? Am I?"

"Add a couple zeros to that number and you might be close" Blanc emotionlessly replied, putting a small notebook onto the ground.

"We can make it 5 if I can convince our writer to let me off. Will you do it, author? Will you?"

"Nep, can you tone it back a little? We're not even 200 words in and you're already trying to break the fourth wall. Just accept what he gives you." Noire asked of her with a sigh.

"Fiiine. So I'm a couple hours late. What's the rush anyways?"

"Did you read anything?" Vert asked, pulling up her phone to get the details. "Apparently, a monster in this forest is causing a lot of problems for the children of all our nations. What kinds of problems it causes isn't specified, but that doesn't really matter. What does matter is that we take it down before it causes more problems."

"That's weird. I haven't heard anything about these incidents in Planeptune."

"Probably because you never leave your room and look at your own nation. You should stop playing with your friends online and do it sometime. You learn a lot." Noire responded with a hint of pride in her observation.

"At least I HAVE friends to play with." Neptune replied smugly.

"Sh-shut up. I have lots of friends. They're just...never available. That's all. Nothing more."

"When you two are done bickering with each other, we have a monster to take down. No rush." Blanc exasperatedly stated.

"Fine" Noire responded, drawing her blade. "We can finish this later, but for now, she's right."

Nep didn't get a chance to respond as the other 3 made their way into the forest, Nep in tow.

* * *

Nep slashed away at another small dogoo as she progressed through the forest, the path to the end seemingly endless.

"Ugh, when do we get to see the big guy here? I'm getting tired of slashing dogoos." Nep asked, exhausted. "Maybe the end here will be an unknown enemy, spouting things like "the end of the world is upon us, and there's nothing you can do to stop it", before taking us all down with no effort. Wouldn't that be something incredible?"

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather return back to my nation alive." Blanc stated without looking up at her. "Besides, I think you're making this seem much bigger than it is. I'm sure it's just a stray mob that shouldn't be here, like most of the requests we get."

"Blanc is right, Neptune, but something about this really is odd." Vert added.

"What do you mean?" Neptune replied with a tilt of her head.

"Well, all the complaints to the guild about this monster have come from kids, which leads me to believe it's specifically targeting them over adults. This is odd for a number of reasons, one being that it's unlikely that in all these cases, they're all children. In addition, this isn't one or two reports, but Leanbox has had almost 20 complaints over the past few months."

"Lastation had over 30. I thought of checking it out myself, but the children seemed unharmed. However, none of them could seem to explain what had happened either."

"So it IS an evil wizard after all, or maybe Arfoire up to some convoluted plan to end the world." Neptune blindly responded as she slashed at another dogoo.

"If it's that woman again, all the better. We could take her down faster than any other monster we come across." Noire responded with a smile over her face. "What she wants with kids is still weird, though, and why they're coming back unharmed is weirder."

"I think we'll find out sooner rather than later. I think I see a clearing." Blanc stated, rushing forward towards it.

"Hey, see? Big boss flag right there. Not a doubt." Neptune replied, drawing her sword for the fight ahead. "Will probably give us a ton of EXP as well."

"Neptune, will you...oh, forget it." Noire responded, rushing forward as well.

"Hey, wait up. I want in on this beatdown too, you know." Vert stated as she entered the clearing.

Their faces quickly went monotone as they saw their so-called boss in the center. It was a dogoo. Same blue color as the rest, same expression, same shape. Vert approached it to get a better look, the little creature unresponsive.

"I mean...It's slightly bigger than the rest of them...I think."

"This is the monster which has been causing our nation's so many issues? You can't be serious." Noire asked, her expression unchanging as she put away her sword. "And I was looking forward to something worth killing too."

"Come on, let's go already. I'm pretty sure this was just a prank against us set up and waste our time, and when I find them…" Blanc stated, looking like she was ready to put a hammer into anyone she saw.

"If I tell Histy that it was just a prank, she'll never believe me. I think we should kill it just to say that we killed it."

'Screw that. It isn't worth the effort. Besides, for all we know, this could have just been your doing in order to look like you're working." Blanc replied, now full on pissed off.

"It does sound like something Neptune would do, but this is too elaborate even for her." Noire stated.

"See? If I were to skip out on work, I wouldn't take it this far. Maybe I would fake 9 or 10 complaints from Planeptune, but not this much."

"That wasn't exactly a compliment" Noire responded while trying to comprehend what she said.

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to you two argue. You can take care of this without me". As Blanc turned to leave, Vert looked to the dogoo. Something about it had changed, more specifically, it's expression, almost like the face of someone who's already won.

Then it began expanding, slowly growing larger and larger, quickly surpassing their own size, absorbing Neptune and Noire into its body..

"Um, Blanc?"

"Look, Thunder tits, you're not convincing me to kill some harmless dogoo, and that's final." Blanc stated without turning around.

"Turn around, Blanc. Trust me."

"Why should I? All I've done is trust and it's gotten me nowhere."

There was a brief pause as Blanc continued forward.

"All right, then. I apologize."

"For what? Blanc asked with confusion, still looking forward.

"Nothing. I'm just sorry for the fact that your brain there is about as small as that excuse of a chest you've got."

Not even a moment later, Blanc was in HDD mode, full fury, before noticing that she was staring down an expanding dogoo, Vert having disappeared. Blanc attempted to run before being consumed by the growing mass.

"What the hell is this?" Blanc thought to herself, the dogoo having stopped expanding. She could feel what was about to happen, and it wasn't going to be pretty. Everyone else could feel it too, all of them shutting their eyes and mouths.

Finally, the dogoo burst, sending it's slime in all directions. The 4 CPUs were left in a pool on the ground, trying to wipe the slime off themselves.

"Ugh, that was disgusting. I never want to touch something like that again." Nep disgustedly stated before stopping herself. "Anyone else feeling...different?"

Noire got up, wiping the slime off her face. "Now that you mention it, I do feel different. It's odd."

"I feel almost lighter, like a big weight has been taken off my chest." Vert added.

"It's hard to stand, and everything seems so much bigger." Blanc stated. "Nep, was your voice always that high?"

"What do you mean?" Nep asked, quickly surprised at her own voice. "You're right. It does sound higher, but…" Nep didn't finish.

"Neptune, what is it?" Vert asked, slowly beginning to look around and understand.

"Well, I think the mystery of all the kids has been solved" Vert stated, looking around at all the childlike bodies around her.

"You can't be serious." Blanc stated with a voice that was a mix of annoyance, anger, and bewilderment as she looked at her body. " I had to have aged back at least 10 years. I can't run Lowee like this."

"So, that dogoo gel turned back our ages." Noire inquired. "I seem to remember an illegal anti-aging serum going around Lastation a few years back, but didn't think much of it."

"I had it going around as a cream that granted immortality if you put it on, but nobody bought it." Blanc added. "I thought it was a scam, so I read the ingredients to find dogoo jelly on it. In any case, I think our best bet would be to wait it out, but why couldn't anyone explain this to us? We could have prepared for this easily and struck it down from a distance, or simply told people to avoid it."

Neptune chimed in.

"I'm sure there is some scientific or magical reason why that's the case, like how their minds were somehow reversed as well to a point where they couldn't explain it clearly while we had the OP protection abilities of HDD to prevent that mental reversal, but for now, let's just attribute it to our incredible plot armour and go with that."

The air was silent with that.

"So...what do we do now?" Noire asked. She brought up a good point.

Blanc walked towards the clearing, stumbling in her new body.

"Where are you going" Asked Vert.

"Lowee. Where else? Not like I can activate HDD and fly there, can I?"

Very noticed that she was right as she attempted to activate her HDD, quickly disappointed.

"Well, that's annoying."

Neptune followed Blanc towards the entrance.

"Nepgear is probably going to be really worried about me, and I'll have a lot of explaining to do."

Noire followed suit.

"I can't leave Uni doing all the work, so I've got to get back quickly."

With a sigh, Vert followed all of them.

"This should an interesting few years, shouldn't it? I'm looking forward to what comes."

* * *

I know I said this would be a series of one-shots, but the alternative would be to put all this at the beginning of every chapter, so I just decided to spare you the annoyance of reading the same things over and over again, so I think that just making it a prologue to them all was just a better idea. My point is this: The actual one-shots will start in the next chapter, but I hope you enjoyed this anyways.

The updates may be a little slow, but I hope you can bear through them.

So, until next time, I'm out.


	2. Child of Purple Progress

I'm writing this one now because I feel I should at least give you something more than a prologue. Hope you like it.

* * *

The walk back to Planeptune was long and tedious, Neptune's steps feeling like she was going nowhere at all. Her little body grew hungry too, the hot sun seeming to drain her more and more as she walked, and a lust for pudding resting inside of her.

She would have a lot to explain when she got back as well. She was sure nobody would be happy about the fact that she was now unable to run her own nation.

"If only Histy hadn't sent me to work that day…" She said to herself out loud, dragging the heavy sword behind her. "Yeah, that's right. If Histy hadn't sent me to work and let me eat pudding and play games, none of this would have happened. Yeah, it's Histy's fault that I'm stuck in this body. Not mine."

Neptune smiled to herself at her reasoning, holding her head high now that she knew she wasn't at fault.

"Hey, kid. You lost or something?" A voice asked somewhere nearby. Neptune looked over to see a nearby man killing dogoos.

"Nope. I'm going to Planeptune, but I'm pretty tired. How far is it?"

The man gave a confused expression.

"Planeptune? It's a few miles down the road, but what's a kid like you doing so far from home?"

"I...ended up getting into a little issue and had to walk back home. Do you by any chance have any pudding on you?"

"Can't say I do, but you shouldn't be eating junk like that anyways. I do have some cooked eggplant my wonderful wife cooked for me. Would you like to try a bit?"

Neptune tried not to show her disgust, though she failed miserably at doing so.

"I...I think I'd rather starve, thank you."

"O...okay. Good luck on your travels, then, and may Purple Heart bless you."

Continuing forward, she could swear she could taste the eggplant in her mouth, making the journey back that much more miserable.

"Now I need some pudding more than ever. Why couldn't you have conjured me up a pudding stall on the side of the road, and have them give me free pudding because of my absolutely adorable face? Why the eggplant, author?"

Within minutes, she felt the sky grow darker, little raindrops slowly hitting her before growing in intensity. Neptune went into a full sprint and ducked under a nearby tree, the light rain now a downpour.

"Don't you think that was a little much?"

Neptune, abide all of her misfortune, understood that the rain would last a long time and that it would be dangerous to go to Planeptune now.

"Hey, stop making this stuff up. This rain isn't so bad."

The sound of thunder boomed around her, the dark clouds stretching all across the sky.

"Okay, okay. I get the point." She stated pleadingly. "If I'm going to be stuck in the rain, I might as well get some rest."

With that, she put her head onto the ground, slowly dozing off to the sound of the raindrops.

* * *

"Hey, kid, you alright there?"

Neptune lazily opened her eyes, the rain having stopped around her and the sky a clear blue. Little drops of water covered her face, probably having gone through the tree, but more importantly….

Nep looked up at the girl, her familiar brown hair and green bow a sigh of relief for her. Iffy looked down on her, breathing a sigh of relief that the little girl was alright.

"Hey, Iffy. How are you doing? Is Planeptune holding up well in my absence?"

The girl tilted her head.

"Sorry, but...do I know you?" Iffy racked her brain, thinking about this. "You look an awful lot like Neptune...are you a fan of her?"

"Iffy, it's-"

"That would make sense, actually. Seeing how much Nep spends online, it would make sense that people would know of me. I'll have to lecture her about that later."

"Iffy, no. It's me, Nep Nep. Your good old hard working, fun loving, helpful CPU."

"Sure you are, kid. Your parents are probably worried about you, so I'll take you home. How does that sound?"

Nep had to seal the deal. If she told her she lived in the Basilicom, she would never believe her. No, she would assume that she doesn't have a home of her own, and it would be off to the orphanage with her. She would be given a name like "Piper" and become no more than a side character. She would have to convince her the only way she knew how.

To Iffy's surprise, Nep stood up, pulling from her pocket a small book, one which Iffy immediately recognized. She felt herself shudder a little.

"Wh-wh-where'd you get that? That's supposed to be locked away…"

"I stole it from your desk and read it before going to sleep. I forgot to put it back before I left."

"That...that book is private. It has all my…" Before she could finish, Nep had already started reading.

"Crimson demons of blood, fall under my command and rise from the earth-"

Iffy's face had gone beet red at this point, snatching the book away from her. It was a full 2 minutes before she could speak again.

"Nep, what have you done this time?" She asked with a sigh. "And you're not off the hook for stealing my stuff."

"Well, it turned out that the monster I was sent to fight was just a dogoo, but it had a sort of anti-aging gel inside of it that got all over me, so now I'm stuck like this for a while."

"Nep…."

"Don't worry. It'll only be like this for a couple of years. You'll barely be able to tell the difference."

Reluctantly, Iffy picked up the child Neptune, cradling her in her chest. She looked down at her in her arms. She had to admit that the kid was cute. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all…

"You know, I feel this would be a lot more fun of a position if this were Compa. Then I could innocently press my face into-"

Iffy dropped her onto the ground, the girl landing on the grass with a thud.

"I take that back. I think you should walk." She stated with a somewhat depressive voice. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

Back at the basilicom, Histoire was pacing around the room to no end.

"Neptune should have been back by now. It's been 3 days already, so why is she not back? It's not like it's something that should take this long for 4 CPUs to deal with. It would have triggered something, or at least been something noticeable...or maybe it wasn't noticeable and they are in grave danger, or worse…"

Nepgear looked up from her tinkering to meet her eyes.

"I'm as worried as you are, but I'm sure she would have found a way to take care of it." She stated, trying to hide her worried expression. "IF is out there too doing guild work, so she should come across something...I hope…"

Within moments, Nepgear's phone starting ringing, Histoire growing only more worried as a result. Nepgear picked it up within moments.

"Hey there, IF. Did you find anything?"

Histoire's heart dropped further, and she could see Nepgear's did as well. Her expression slowly changed to relief.

"Oh, you found her. That's great." Histoire looked off at Nepgear's face as she grew more and more confused. This time, IF talked a while.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I understand. What happened to Neptune?"

Another long pause, and her face only grew more confused before reaching surprise.

"Oh….Well, I'll have to see the extent, but I'm sure I can do that. It'll be fun." This time, it was Histoire's turn to be confused.

"Yeah, she'll probably lecture her for a few hours, but she couldn't have known this would happen, and I assume the other nations are facing similar problems."

"Nepgear, what is-" She help up a finger, telling her to wait until she was done. Another long pause.

"I see. In any case, this is a big issue, but we can talk about it more when you get back…..oh, you're already in the city….alright, I'll meet you outside the tower in about 5 minutes...see you then." Nepgear hung up, immediately putting Histoire back into panic mode.

"Is she okay? Is she unharmed? What happened to her?"

Nepgear relaxed herself, attempting to comprehend what IF had said.

"She's unharmed, but not exactly okay either. I think it may be better if you see it for yourself."

And with that, Nepgear was out the door, Histoire no less calm than she was before. For many minutes, she continued to pace. What had she meant with her last statement? Finally, however, Nepgear and IF arrived in the door, a little girl in tow.

"That's a cute kid you have there, but where's Neptune?" Histoire asked curiously. IF and Nepgear looked at each other, silently trying to debate how to explain this. Histoire looked at the child, the realization quickly coming to her mind.

"Hey there, Histy. How's it going?" Neptune looked at Histoire, who was now taller than she was, expecting her to shower her with praise about how cute she was.

"How could you do this to yourself? Don't you know that this is incredibly irresponsible to be doing this? How are you going to run a nation like this?"

Neptune only pouted, making Histoire even more furious.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't think you see the scope of just how bad this is. Are you even listening?"

Nepgear piped up.

"I can look after Planeptune in her absence, and seeing that the effects are supposedly temporary…"

"Then that means there has to be a cure or antidote, right? Right?" Histoire asked, now excited at the thought that this may not be so bad.

"No, but it means I finally get to be the older sister I always dreamed of being." Nepgear replied with a look of pure joy on her face.

 _They're both hopeless…_

* * *

 **Many days later…**

Neptune rushed to the dinner table as fast as her little legs could take her. She had finished her dinner just as Nepgear had asked of her (aside from the eggplants she had snuck in), and now she was getting the fruit of her efforts.

In front of her chair sat a pudding, just waiting for her. Rushing forward, she jumped into the seat, her head just barely above the table. Nepgear sat down in a spot quite close to her own, something that she found unusual. As she went to dig in, Nepgear opened up the pudding, and Neptune immediately saw what was happening: This was punishment for not eating all her food, being forced to watch her dear sister eat her pudding in front of her.

"Meanie"

Nepgear then pulled out a spoon and grabbed a big piece. She could feel her mouth watering, her body just calling out to eat it. This was too cruel, even for her.

Instead, however, she brought it towards Neptune's mouth, the little piece sitting in front of her eyes.

"Say ahhhh"

Neptune turned her head away. She was not about to be spoon fed from her sister.

"Ahhhh. Open wide."

Neptune kept her head turned, though resistance was difficult.

"Such a shame. If you don't want it, I guess I'll have to eat it myself."

Reluctantly, she turned back, the spoon still facing her. She had no choice. With an embarrassed look, she opened her mouth to let the spoon in, the pudding slowly filling her mouth. It oddly tasted much better than any other she had. Was it the regression?

Nepgear went in for another spoonful, this time Neptune happily accepting it. Nepgear's face lit up as she swallowed the pudding, Neptune reaching for more. As she ate another spoonful, Neptune felt a hand over her head, her face turning bright red. She went to call for her to stop, but she let Nepgear continue to pat her on the head as she continued to eat.

* * *

On another day a few weeks later, Neptune and Nepgear found themselves outside a nearby movie theater after going clothes shopping. She had picked out a kids shirt with the words "Praise Purple" written on it, directly above a somewhat crude picture of her CPU form.

"Remind me when I get back to normal to get this changed. There's no way I looked like this. My head is all wrong." Neptune pouted, still looking down at it.

"If you're just going to complain, why did you buy it?"

"Because I like it, that's why."

While trying comprehend her logic, Nepgear looked to the movie theater. Before she could speak, Neptune rushed off to one of the posters.

"This is that hit horror movie that everyone is talking about, Black Death 4. It's supposed to be amazing. Can we see it? Can we?" She pleaded, going to the full on puppy eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'll go get us tickets." She responded, though reluctantly. She slowly walking to the ticket counter.

"2 tickets for Black Death 4, please." She asked. The man shot Neptune a look before shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let the kid in there. Would go against my moral code."

"See Neptune? He won't let us in. You're too young. Now, let's head back before-" Nepgear turned to leave, Neptune grabbing hold. She looked down to see her genuinely sad.

"We can go see a different movie, one less...bloody, perhaps. Maybe I'll get it for you as a present when it comes on DVD."

Neptune reluctantly nodded, prompting Nepgear to go back to the counter.

"What other movies do you have?" Nepgear asked. The man looked at a nearby schedule before showing it to her.

"We have Our Name, Blade Art Online's latest movie, and No Life No Game: Null."

"Do you really have to call them by those names? We already know what you're really talking about." Nepgear asked with a sigh

Neptune tugged at her sleeve, pointing towards the last one.

"Alright, then. 2 tickets for NLNG, please." Neptune blurted out excitedly.

The man handed them both the tickets, giving Nepgear an odd look on her way in. Neptune quickly went for the popcorn upon entry, ordering herself the biggest size they had. However, she struggled to pick it up off the counter from its weight.

"Can you carry this for me?" She asked pleadingly. Nepgear picked up the bag, quickly realizing it really was heavy.

"Couldn't you have ordered a size smaller? Are you sure you'll finish all this?"

Neptune nodded without hesitation, taking little pieces to snack on as they made their way to the theater. Eventually, they decided to sit in the middle to get the best view.

.

.

.

As they watched, Nepgear had to admire the use of robotics, to the point that she lost track and started thinking about building one of her own. Robots really would make doing things around so much easier, and could lighten the load on Histoire. An explosion on-screen shook the theater, to the point that even Nepgear felt it. She looked to her side to see Neptune clutching to her, eyes turned.

"Did the explosion scare you?"

Neptune did as best she could to nod with her face pressed against her sleeve.

"Alright, I'll let you know when the scary stuff is over."

Many minutes later, the scene transitioned, prompting Nepgear to remember to wake to talk to her.

"Hey, Neptune. The scary part is over. You can open your eyes."

What she found was Neptune fast asleep beside her, popcorn in hand, softly breathing. Deciding it would be best not to wake her, she continued the movie on her own, Neptune's soft rhythmic sounds and movements in the background.

* * *

Another year passed, and this time, Neptune was alone at the arcade. The lights buzzed around her as she looked at her favorite racing game. In truth, it felt good to see these games through childlike eyes, everything appearing so much better than she remembered. As she put in her token to start playing, she felt a shove out of her chair.

A group of older kids had pushed her out of the way, additionally stealing the game she had just paid for. They looked to be about 2 years older than she was now, and she could have easily dealt with this if she were normal, but she had to do it the only other way she knew how.

"Excuse me, but I think you took my game. Can I play this one?" Maybe they would be respectable.

"Sure you can, right after we spend all our money here. The boy dumped a pile of change onto the nearby table. "Besides, this game isn't for kids like you, so why don't you go try something more...age appropriate?"

Alright, that tactic failed. She thought to call Nepgear, but decided a better idea.

"One game."

The boy looked at her with a confused glare.

"One game. Me against you. If I win, you buy me the biggest prize they have at the counter, and let me play my game."

The boy considered this among his friends, each one offering their own thoughts.

"Alright. I'll take that offer." The boy stated. "If we win, though, you leave this arcade for good."

Neptune was taken aback. Normally, she wouldn't accept, but now it was personal.

"Deal."

The boys handed them both a steering wheel controller, the race track selection appearing for both of them.

"We'll go on the hardest track, unless you're a wuss, of course." Neptune grew into her competitive mode, immediately choosing the most difficult course. As the race started, she felt her controller, which seemed oddly lighter than she remembered it.

"3...2...1...GO!"

She moved to go forward, but nothing happened. Her character simply sat there unmoving. The two voices behind her laughed, holding 2 batteries in their hands.

"You're really bad at this, aren't you?" Neptune reached to grab them, the two holding it high above her reach. Meanwhile, the other boy sped ahead of her along with the rest of the players. Eventually, she kicked him in the leg, sending him to the ground and stealing back the batteries before putting them into the controller. She started to move ahead before realizing that the other boy had no idea how to play the game at all. She quickly overtook him, putting her far ahead of him within moments. As she drove, she thought about how this victory didn't seem right, and that maybe she should help him do better.

"I'm gonna spit on your prize, you know that? All of us will, you dumb kid." He stated through slightly teary eyes.

The thought of helping him dashed away from Neptune's mind faster than she dashed into him, sending him off the edge. She felt herself laugh even more as she continued the race and eventually finishing first.

"I believe you owe me something?"

The boy got up, his eyes now in tears.

"I had my fingers crossed that whole time. I don't have to do anything for you."

Neptune looked off at the toy, a giant purple stuffed elephant hanging above the counter. She wasn't going away without that prize. Then, an idea struck her.

"You know, my sister works for Purple Heart. You wouldn't want the goddess to be mad at you, would you?"

This shut them up for a moment, the boys starting to sweat.

"Y-you're bluffing, kid. There's no way that's true."

Neptune pulled out her phone, pretending to turn it on and make a call.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm making the call now."

"Okay okay. We'll buy you the toy. Just please don't get us into that kind of trouble." The boys approached the counter, pooling all their tickets into the machine.

"The purple elephant, right?"

Neptune nodded, a sense of pride over her face.

The boys nodded to each other, looking at the counter worker.

"One...purple elephant for the dumb kid over there."

The man at the counter handed her the elephant, something that she quickly realized was too big to carry. Neptune looked back and fed the rest of her own tickets to them, handing them the slip. The boy smiled, running back to the game and prompting Neptune's memory about the other part of her deal before she looked back at the massive elephant in her arms that was bigger than she was.

"I'll let them have this one." She thought to herself as she attempted to call Nepgear.

"Hey, do you by any chance have any robots that can carry things? Really big things?"

* * *

Nepgear walked in on Neptune playing games one day, sword in hand. She knew it was irresponsible and that she might not be ready, but she would have to work eventually.

The girl was now 12 years old in human years, playing on one on Planeptune's consoles and sitting on a half destroyed elephant stuffed animal turned beanbag chair.

"Hey, Neptune? I was going to go out on a quest today and I wanted to know if you wanted to come…"

To her surprise, Neptune paused her game and picked up a nearby wooden sword.

"Sounds good. Where are we going?"

Nepgear was in shock at the fact that Neptune had actually paused her game and agreed to work that it took her a moment to comprehend her thoughts.

"Just to the nearby forest to kill some low level mobs that have been causing a little trouble." She explained. "Why are you so eager to work?"

"Well, if I keep doing this, Histy will get mad at me for no reason again."

"I get mad at you because all you do is freeload. Now, go be useful." Histy yelled from the other room. It then occurred to Nepgear that Histoire was an actual authority figure to her.

"Come on, let's get going before she goes full pissty again." Neptune whispered, running out the door towards the city streets.

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.

.

The forest was a short walk from Planeptune, just along the outskirts. The mobs were low leveled and perfect for her to fight.

"Alright. Our job is to kill 5 dogoos. Do you think you can take that?" Nepgear asked.

Neptune readied her sword. "Of course I can take them. I'll show them what I've got."

With a nod, the two made their way into the forest, the atmosphere almost tranquil. The sky was a bright blue, the temperature was perfect, the birds were chirping...and Neptune's battle cries echoed across the forest as she swung her sword wildly.

"I've been itching for so many years to take down a dogoo and get revenge for what happened all those years ago." Neptune stated confidently. "I'll take them all down."

Nepgear thought to herself about whether to ask her what was on her mind, but eventually, she gave in.

"Neptune….do you regret these past few years at all?"

Neptune looked her in the eyes, giving off the impression of a smile.

"I mean, it sucks that I wasn't able to do a lot that I could in my CPU form, but I've had a lot of fun. I don't regret the fun times we've had with each other."

Nepgear felt a tear in her eye.

"Neptune, that's so-"

"Hey, it's a dogoo. I'm gonna go and cut it to pieces. Don't wait up." Neptune said as she ran off. Nepgear let herself smile as she followed her towards the dogoo. Her fighting skills were rusty, her "slashes" being more just banging them over the head wildly. Eventually, she took it down, dropping a small amount of gel in the process. This continued over the next hour before they finally took down the last of the dogoos.

"That was fun. We did it, didn't we?" Neptune jumped into the air excitedly, the ground weak below her. Nepgear went to warn her, but the ground broke off and Neptune tumbled her way down a hill. Without thinking, Nepgear activated HDD and rushed down to her, Neptune grabbing her leg in pain.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright?"

Neptune got up slowly, managing to stand after a few seconds.

"I'm okay…" She responded with a wince. "But my leg really hurts."

Nepgear took a look at her leg. Thankfully, there was no blood, but there was obvious damage.

"I'll call Compa and let her know you're hurt. Can you walk?"

She began to walk, but it looked to be more of a limp.

"Is it alright if I hold your hand on the way there? I'm not sure I can get there alone." Nepgear grabbed her hand, the two slowly walking to the exit of the forest, and despite the pain, the moment felt perfect.

* * *

"I'll beat you this time, dear sister. I won't lose." Nepgear's determination stretched throughout the air of the room, practically filling the entire space.

"Alright, alright. One more game. Loser has to get the other whatever they want." Neptune responded joyfully.

The game was the latest fighting game, the two having played non-stop for the past 12 hours. Neptune unleashed a secret combo on Nepgear, taking her down within the first 30 seconds.

"How did you do that?"

"It's simple: The combos in this game are the same as they were in the last one. All you have to do is memorize them and the rest is muscle memory. Now, I'll have a nice, cold pudding to celebrate my victory."

Nepgear turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving Neptune alone in the room. As she went to select her next character, she felt something change within her. Neptune knew what it meant, but she needed to test it.

In a flash of light, she felt herself transform, power locked away for 10 years resurfacing. She felt her body age further, the familiar feeling of HDD overcoming her.

"Neptune, I got you the pudding but it wasn't…" Nepgear stopped mid-sentence, looking at Purple Heart in the center of the room.

"...cold..."

Neptune noticed her, transforming back to her normal form.

"Guess I forgot my own age, didn't I? It's good to be back to normal, though, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Nepgear responded reluctantly before sitting down next to her.

"Hey, you okay there?"

Nepgear looked up at her with depressed eyes.

"Yeah, it's just that I had so much fun taking care of you, but now you can take care of yourself. It's going to take some getting used to." She responded. "Anyways, here's your pudding cup."

Neptune thought about this for a moment, thinking about what to say, but eventually, she made a decision.

"Actually, as an extra punishment for your loss, I'll ask that you feed it to me directly." She demanded with a wink.

Nepgear instantly filled with joy, opening the pudding cup and grabbing a nearby spoon.

"Open wide and say Ahhhh." She asked with a smile over her face and holding back tears. "I won't lose next time, you know."

Neptune gladly accepted the offering.

* * *

And that's the end of this one. As I said, more updates will likely be slower, but I gave this one to you early so you have an idea of what's to come. In any case, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

Until next time...


	3. Child of Black Regality

Noire reached the outskirts of Lastation with ease, the forest having, quite luckily, been very close to her nation. Despite the fact that she was a little hungry and tired from walking, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride for herself.

"This is no problem. I can run my nation just fine, even with a form like this." She stated to herself. "All the other CPUs will probably laze away and let this pass, but not me." As she walked, she felt herself trip over a small rock, landing face first on the ground. This would take some getting used to.

A Lastation guard approached her, having been standing at the entrance to the nation.

"Are you okay, little girl? Are you injured?"

Noire got up, dusting the dirt off her clothes.

"I'm fine, thank you. I was just heading in, so if you don't mind…" She moved to step forward, the guard stopping her.

"Normally, we would let visitors in, but due to a recent attack within Lastation's walls, we can't let them in." The guard calmly explained.

"I'm not a visitor." She angrily responded, getting into his face. "I am the CPU of Lastation, Black Heart, and I demand that you let me into my nation." The other guard drew what she knew to be a taser that Uni and Nepgear had designed together, her heart dropping upon seeing it, before the guard in front of her stopped him. He looked Noire in the eyes with a look that really meant business.

"Listen, I know you're only a kid, and I know you don't know any better, but you shouldn't be using our goddesses name in vain like that. Now, if you do indeed live here, then you should be able to get in with a piece of identification proving your residence."

Noire fished through her pockets, pulling out everything she had before understanding it was useless. There was no way they would believe any of the pictures on her ID were her.

"You've got to believe me…"

"Sorry, but I can't let you in." He responded with a shake of his head. "I can contact your family, but it may take a while. However, you can wait in our booth while we contact them. Now, if you'll just give me their names and numbers…"

Noire moved forward towards the city, pushing the guard out of the way.

"I don't have time for this. Your CPU commands you to let me in." She yelled, only realizing her mistake when she felt herself being lifted off the ground."

"Does this mean I get to use the taser?" The other guard asked.

"What is it with you and that taser? I told you: Those are for criminals, not civilians. We can get into a lot of trouble for using it here."

"Not if it's not on record. The goddess is off on a quest right now. If she doesn't know about it, we won't get in trouble."

"I'm not being treated as an accomplice and losing my job because of your antics. If you do it, I'm reporting you."

"You're no fun, you know that?"

"Let me go. I'll have you both fired for this, you know that?" Noire screamed as she carried them.

"Until we can either contact your parents or you have special permission from the CPU, we can't let you in right now."

"Dammit, I do have special permission from the CPU. The permission is from-" She felt a slight shock into her back, not enough to cause permanent damage, but enough to send her nearly unconscious.

"-Myself…" She finished before falling unconscious.

"Now you've done it…"

* * *

Noire woke up an unknown amount of time later, but she immediately recognized that she was sitting in a containment cell. The walls and floors were a dull grey and black, a single door and a one-way mirror along the wall. She had noticed that all her personal belongings were gone as well.

A single guard entered the room, prompting Noire to get annoyed.

"Before you get mad at me, I'd like to apologize."

Noire said nothing.

"Listen, I know you're mad, but we can't do anything until we contact your parents, so if you'd just co-operate…"

In all honesty, Noire had no idea what to tell him. The only way that she could possibly convince him was if she either got one of the Basilicom workers to play her parents and work from there, or get special permission from the CPU…

Then she had an idea. It would be a longshot, but it just might work. Noire confidently stood up, looking the guard dead in the eyes.

"Listen, this room is meant for adults, not children, I assume this wasn't you who brought me here, was it?"

The guard stepped back a little before coming to his senses, quickly understanding this girl was smarter than he thought.

"Yeah. My partner wanted to be "extra safe" about you, despite the fact that I kept telling him that it was going too far. He's done this many times too, but nobody does anything about it."

Noire took a quick look around before continuing.

"My mom works in the Basilicom, and I'm worried that if I call her here, they'll find her and kill her." Noire responded, letting a small tear trickle down her eye. Thank god she had practiced that for some of her cosplays. He quickly comforted her.

"No, please don't cry. Your mom will be fine. We'll make sure of it." He responded, though unsure of his own words. Another minute of fake tears passed before the man came in close.

"Do your parents really work at the Basilicom? Are you being honest about that?" He asked.

Noire nodded, an invisible smile crossing her face.

"I will be breaking a few regulations doing this, but if I got a Basilicom worker to bring this up with the CPU directly, then I may be able to get my partner off this job." He explained. "I'll even give you a phone call, unregistered and untracked to guarantee their safety, and let you out of here, but you have to promise me you won't run away. Do you understand?"

"Yes. Thank you so much." Noire responded through her tears. Within a few moments, she was being walked outside into the front, receiving all her belongings in the process.

* * *

Making sure she was alone, she pulled out her cell phone and made the call.

"Come on, pick up…" She heard the phone ring, worried for a moment that she wouldn't pick up. Finally, however, she heard her pick up.

"Uni, thank god you picked up. It's me, Noire. Listen, I need to ask you a favor." Noire asked. There was a long pause.

"Noire? It doesn't sound like you. Is this a prank call?" She asked, preparing to hang up.

"Don't hang up. It really is me, and this is coming from my phone. Just please don't hang up." Noire worried as Uni considered this.

"Alright, I believe you, but what happened to you? Also, where are you? Lastation is a mess right now."

"I know, and I'll explain later. I'm in the guard booth just outside the west gate. I need you to send someone to come pick me up."

"Pick you up? What did you do?"

"Like I said, I'll explain later. Just send a Basilicom worker and get them to convince these guards that they're my parents."

"Parents? Honestly, what did you do?"

"Can you do it? Please?" Another long pause.

"Alright. I can send someone over soon enough. Just wait out until then, alright?"

"Thank you. I'll explain everything later." She heard the phone hang up on her side, Noire doing the same on her own.

All that was left was to wait.

For about 10 minutes, she sat in a small chair in the front waiting area, patiently watching the door. In those 10 minutes, it opened a few times, every time getting excited like the kid she now was, but most of them were guards taking their breaks. When it opened the last time, she saw who it was that was coming in, instantaneously panicking.

Uni got a look at her, instantly grasping the situation, trying her hardest not to change her expression. Uni approached the front desk, staring at the guard.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm here to pick her up." She calmly stated.

The guard jumped back, looking between the two.

"Lady Uni? You're the mother?"

Noire rushed in to say something, but Uni beat her to the punch.

"I adopted her after seeing her alone in an awful neighbourhood, but never made it public." She explained, though Noire could hear the shakiness in her voice. "She went off on a quest by herself, but then this disaster hit Lastation. I'm terribly sorry for using up your valuable time"

"No need to apologise. I'm terribly sorry for detaining your child here. Have a good day."

As the two prepared to walk out the door, the second guard came rushing out.

"Hey, you don't actually expect to believe that story, do you?" He stated. "I don't buy it at all." Noire hugged Uni closer, bringing out her best acting.

"Th-that's the man that shocked me and locked me in the scary room." She stated, bringing about fake tears and saddened eyes. Uni looked at the first guard who simply nodded his head in response.

"It was all his decision, Lady Uni. I apologise."

Uni nodded her head, getting a good look at the guard's face in the process, and as the door closed, Noire shot him the most evil look she could muster up.

Nobody does that and gets away with it.

When they were a good distance away, Uni let herself breathe before starting to talk.

"Alright, Noire. You have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

By the time they reached the Basilicom, Noire had said everything that needed to be said.

"This is, of course, a problem that needs to be fixed, but more importantly…."

Noire attempted to push away from Uni's cuddling and smothering, though eventually gave up.

"You're so adorable. I'll have to get so many pictures, and Kei will want to see you as well."

"I'll pose for your pictures, but first, I need to deal with this crisis. Just because I'm a kid doesn't make my duties any less important, after all." By now, the two had entered the Basilicom, and Noire could see that Uni was uncomfortable.

"Actually, Noire, now that you have the experience of being a kid again, I thought it might be best for you to take a break from your duties and relax."

"Uni, what do you take me for? I can be a CPU just fine in this body." Uni opened the door to Noire's office, the room actually appearing much bigger than she remembered.

"Alright. Let's start with that guard you so desperately want to see gone. I just need his record from the box in the top shelf. Can you get it for me?"

Noire had already started moving, the box right in view. Should be easy enough. She reached upwards, her hands barely touching the bottom of it. Putting her foot on an empty shelf, she tried pulling again with little luck.

Noire left the room, coming back a minute later with a ladder in her arms before placing it on the ground and climbing up. She pulled the box, now understanding how really heavy it was, barely able to get it off the shelf before seeing it fall to the ground and her along with it. As she laid there, Uni stood over her with a sigh.

"I'll make sure Lastation stays in good hands, but it's important that you take the time to relax and enjoy yourself. You need it."

Noire slowly got up, making her way to the box on the floor.

"I'll do the work around here. Your older sister will make sure you know what a model CPU looks like." Noire stated.

"Except you're not the older sister anymore, are you?"

Noire went to make a comeback only for nothing to come.

"J-just because my body isn't older than you doesn't mean I'm any younger mentally."

She could see that she wasn't convincing her.

"In any case, it's getting late. I think you should get some sleep, Noire."

"I won't sleep. My nation needs me. My people...need me." She responded with a yawn.

"Yeah, sure you won't."

"Well, if you insist, I guess a little bit of sleep won't hurt, but I'll be ready to work in the morning."

"Alright then, Noire. I'll let Kei know about what happened. She should be able to take care of everything. Also, do you want me to check for monsters under your bed before you sleep?"

Noire didn't dignify a response, instead heading straight to bed.

* * *

The clock on the wall ticked through the night, amplified by the darkness and silence of night, ringing through the small room in it's usual rhythmic patterns.

Noire was terrified.

Squeezing her pillow, she attempted to drown out the noise by pushing a pillow to one ear and the other into the bed, silencing the sound of the clock. However, all it did was make her uncomfortable.

"I-I'm not scared. I've slept in this bed thousands of times. I shouldn't be scared of anything like the dark or some monsters…"

Wait...monsters?

Never once did the thought ever pop into her mind until now. Noire gripped her pillow harder, squeezing her whole face into it.

"D-don't be silly. Where would a monster hide anyways?"

Of course, they could be in one of the closets, under the bed, in a dark corner, just behind her…

"Stop doing this to me. I need to sleep, and monsters are the least of my worries right now."

A noise came from her closet door, sending Noire into complete panic mode. Tiptoeing out of bed, she made her way to the door, her legs shaky the entire way.

"There's no reason to panic. It's probably nothing." Not even she believed her own words, but she had to now. With a shaky hand, she flung open the closet door and turned on the light, jumping back a few steps in the process.

It was a coat, one that had fallen off it's hanger and onto the floor. After taking the time to catch her breath, she put the coat back on the rack and turned out the light, making her way back to bed.

"It was just a coat. I was worried for nothing after all."

As she crawled back into bed, more thoughts barraged her. What if the coat had been a decoy in order to get to her? Was she sure there weren't more in this room, hiding in wait for her to let down her guard? What if they are waiting for her to go to sleep and make sure this is her last night on the face of the earth?

Meanwhile, the clock still ticked on in the silence.

Noire got out of bed and opened the door, making her way down the hallway to Uni's room. She slowly opened it, the sound of Uni's breathing calming her down, and approached her bed.

"Hey, Uni...Is it fine if I sleep with you tonight?" She softly asked. "Not that I'm scared at all or anything, but I thought you could use the company."

"Nepgear...what are you doing? Don't come to me like that…" She dazedly responded. Noire wondered what she was dreaming about, but she seemed to have a smile on her face. Noire crawled into bed, squeezing up against Uni and hugging her tight. The feeling of sleeping in an unfamiliar place was uncomforting, but the sound of Uni sleeping and muttering next to her took away any fears she had as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A while later, Noire visited a shooting range with Uni just down the street from the Basilicom. She had only come along because she would've been left alone otherwise, but it was a good opportunity nonetheless.

"Now, I'm going to be training with the new rifle I just bought. Unfortunately, they won't let you into where I'm going, but they have toy air guns over there for you to use. I'll be out in an hour, okay?"

Noire nodded, moving to ask more questions, but she was already gone. She made her way into another room where bright colors lined the walls. A small air rifle sat in front of her, a target way too close up to her.

"Geez, I could hit that with my eyes closed."

Picking up the gun (which turned out to be really heavy), she began firing it into the target. A small light appeared wherever she got a hit, and after 10 shots, she saw that her aim was, to say, worse than she had hoped.

A young girl next to her stopped firing and approached her. She was her own age, hair long and golden.

"Here, let me help you out with that." She offered heartfully. With a few tweaks and moving her around a little, she walked away.

"Try this and see if it's better."

Noire began firing, quickly noticing that she had improved. It was actually impressive.

"I was fine on my own, but thanks anyways." Noire shyly responded. "You sure know a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah, I come here every day. Someday, I want to be like Lady Uni." She explained with a gleam in her eye. "I heard she once took out a robot with a single shot from over 800 meters away."

"850, actually. It was a shot right to the head, if you can call it that." Noire corrected, having been there to witness that.

"You a Uni fan as well, by any chance? She sure is incredible, isn't she?"

"Actually…" She thought about whether to go with her story about mother and daughter or just play the fact that she's a fanatic, but she didn't know who this girl was. If contradicting stories started circulating, then she could be in a lot of trouble.

The girl gave her a confused look, bringing her back to the fact that she had never actually given her an answer yet.

"You could say that Uni is my adoptive mother…" Noire didn't even finish her sentence before the girl had already tackled her to the ground.

"A-a-a-a-a-adoptive mother? Did I hear that right?"

"Y-yeah...It's nothing amazing, but..."

"Are you kidding? That's totally incredible. Can we be friends?"

Noire could swear that her brain short circuited at that moment, as almost autonomously and quicker than she could react, a loud "yes" echoed across the room.

"Awesome. By the way, my name is Etsuko Anii, but you can just call me by my initials if you'd like."

"Etsuki is fine by me. If you want, we can meet up later-"

Within a few moments, a Lastation guard came in and looked down at the girl.

"This is the third time this month you've been doing this. You know what you're doing is wrong, so stop making our jobs harder. Next time, there will be much worse consequences."

Noire stood confused, looking at the girl in front of the guards.

"What's going on?"

"Well, this girl is a thief, and a good one at that. She takes all your money after lulling you in."

She felt her back pocket, quickly noticing that her wallet was missing. When she wondered when she could have taken it, she realized she had felt something weird when she was adjusting her aim.

The guard pulled her wallet out of the girls hands and threw it back to her.

"Sorry to bother you, but I hope you enjoy the rest of your day." With that, the guard was gone with the girl in tow, leaving Noire speechless.

Still, a friend was a friend, was it not?

* * *

A year passed, and Lastation's tech expo was in full bloom. Food stalls sat alongside cool gadgets, machinery and robots, spanning a major chunk of the nation.

Noire snacked on a small piece of candy that was supposedly full of microscopic robots designed to improve intelligence and memory when she encountered something that left her speechless.

It was a small arena with 2 kids on either end, remotely controlling 2 robots in the center that were battling it out. An old man next to her noticed her gaze.

"I see you're interested, little girl."

"A little, but not too much." She stated before cheering as loud as she could, one of the robots having punched the other into the ground.

The old man smiled. "It's Lastation's rising sport lately. 2 robots fight it out, and the winner of each battle receives a big prize. I think they're still accepting entries, so if you want to play, sign up now."

"If you insist" She replied as she rushed to sign up. After writing down her name, she was handed a small slip of paper with a number on it.

"Down the stairs and to your left, you'll find the waiting booth. Wait until your number is called."

Doing as she was told, she made her way down the stairs and sat down, not knowing who she would end up fighting.. A few minutes later, she heard her number called and made her way to the headset and chair in front of the arena. She couldn't see who she was facing, but she was going to win.

"Today we have 2 fine competitors for you all to watch. Standard rules apply, first one unable to move is the winner. Otherwise, anything goes. Are both competitors ready?" A voice asked over the loudspeaker.

Noire went in to shake her head yes before a thought came to her: She didn't actually know what she was doing. Regardless, the bell sounded, prompting her into the view of the robot. Before she could figure out how to move, she felt herself slammed into the ground. Noire went in to punch her from above, only to be grabbed by it and instantly flipped over.

"They're good" She thought to herself, going in for another attack only to be brought into the ground again. Punch after punch, the other player sent her further and further into the ground. Cheers from the crowd in the background filled her ears. She would have to win this soon.

Going in for a blind spot, she went to hit her in the face and damaging the camera before she felt the same done to her, being quickly immobilized as a result.

It was completely one-sided.

"That was a fight to remember. Let's give them both the chance to collect their prizes before moving on to the next exciting match.

Noire walked to the table, curious about who her opponent was.

Uni pushed from the crowd to the table, collecting the money prize from them.

"That was such an easy fight, right Noire? I put them into the dust where they belonged, but it wasn't like they ever stood a chance in the first place. Did you see me, Noire? Did you?"

Noire reached her hand away from the prize collection, deciding it would be best not to crush her spirits.

"Yeah, I saw you. You did a good job."

"Thanks. I knew I would win from the start." She proudly stated. "That loser was a real coward, though. Can't they show their face to me after a defeat like that? Probably crying in a corner somewhere."

"Y-Yeah. A real coward…"

"Anyways, I don't have much use for this money, so do you want to get something together?"

Noire felt her stomach growl, prompting her to answer her by running for the food building, Uni rushing to keep up with her.

* * *

One day many years later, an 11 year old Noire walked through the Basilicom with a sword in hand. She was finally ready to perform some guildwork, and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

Noire knocked on Uni's office, the door sliding open, Uni scrunched over a pile of papers.

"Hey, Uni. Do you want to go hunt down some robots with me?"

"I would love to, but I'm waist deep in work right now. Running this nation has taken up everything I have." She explained. "Maybe next time, though."

"Oh...well, I guess I'll go on a quest by myself, then."

"Just make sure to be back before it gets late, okay?"

"Alright…" Noire left the room with a sulk and a pout. She didn't need her, she could do it herself. In fact, she would go above and beyond just to show her. Slamming the door behind her, she walked out into the Lastation streets and walked to the abandoned factory in the distance.

.

.

.

Stepping through the broken doors, a rush of cold air pushed back at her. The factory had been one that designed the robots for robot fighting before the sport was outlawed. Such a shame. It really was fun, but it eventually turned into an underground sport where corruption ran wild.

Noire took her first step into the factory, the ground below clanging under her footsteps and lifeless robots lining the walls.

"I can do this. I used to do this all the time."

Turning another corner, she encountered her first robot. It was a small one, nothing that she couldn't handle, yet her legs still trembled. Noire took a short step back, stopping in her tracks. There was no way she could back out now, not after everything she had worked for. She took a step forward, and then another, quickly reaching a full on sprint into the monster and swinging her sword into it's body. The monster quickly disappeared into scrap metal on the floor. Noire instantly felt a burst of confidence.

"That was a piece of cake. I wonder why nobody else took this quest."

She spotted another 3 out of the corner of her vision, immediately rushing forward and quickly taking them all out. More and more monsters were reduced to scrap metal, but she wouldn't be satisfied until the factory was clear. Noire approached a clearing, seeing a pile of them on the ground.

"Someone must have beat me to it. I'll find them soon enough." As she spoke to herself, a chill went down her back, quite literally.

Turning around, she understood all the scrap in the center as she stared down an old CPU breaker robot. It looked at her with cold eyes, Noire remaining completely motionless. Before she could back away, the machine rushed forward, sending Noire into a panic as she closed her eyes. She couldn't go out like this, not now…

When she opened them, she was against the wall, surprisingly unharmed. Looking up, she saw her sister's face, half breathing.

"Please don't ever do something like this again. It's dangerous." Uni's tone was a mix between anger, worry, joy and regret.

"How did you find me here?"

"I ended up realizing that you were turning out exactly as I was, so I took a break from work. Ended up finding out where you went from the guild, and read the quest. Turns out there was another quest in the same place for this monster, so nobody dared attempt it."

Noire felt a hint of annoyance at herself. She had been the one to lecture Uni about safety countless times.

"I know you don't like to run from a fight, Noire, but we have to." Uni expected her to jump out of her arms and play the courageous hero and fight back.

Instead, however, Noire clutched to Uni tighter.

"There's an exit out the door and to our left. It's probably the fastest way out of the factory if we don't stop moving."

Uni was surprised for a moment, but snapped out of it quickly. Using everything she had and with Noire by her side, she bolted for the exit as fast as she could, feeling more alive than she had felt for a very long time.

* * *

Noire woke up one morning to find Uni, Kei and many of the Basilicom staff surrounding her in amazement.

"What's everyone looking at me for?" She was surprised to notice that her voice was much deeper and that she indeed felt very different.

"Noire, your HDD returned to you. You can be the CPU again." Uni excitedly stated. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Noire excitedly made her way out of bed, walking out the door into the crowd outside. Uni ran alongside her.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to go on a guild quest with me, as a celebration of being CPU again."

"Sorry, Uni, but I have a lot of work that needs to get done in reinstating myself as the CPU of Lastation, but maybe...some other...time…" She stopped herself to see Uni genuinely holding back tears.

"It's fine, Noire. I understand. I just thought that you might want to take a break and have a little fun."

Noire turned to Kei, standing next to her.

"Is there any pressing matters that need to be dealt with right now?" Noire asked.

Kei took a moment to look to a page in front of her.

"Aside from the pressing demands from a certain little sister, there's nothing that needs to be dealt with right now."

Noire looked over at Uni, now wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I heard there's a monster in an old factory, a really tough one. I couldn't take it alone, but two of us could."

"Do you really mean it, Noire?"

"I really do, Uni. Let's go take that thing down, shall we?"

Uni grabbed Noire by the arm, pulling her forwards and out the door.

For the first time in a really long time, Noire was truly smiling.

* * *

So, I really hope you enjoyed this one, and I'd like to thank you all for rating and reviewing my work.

I ended up writing this one to get rid of some frustrations in my life, so I'm not sure how good it is myself, but I hope you really enjoyed it.

With that word, I'm out.


	4. Child of Green Pastures

**A/N: So, I was originally going to do Blanc's next, but after a** **"** **short break", I ended up deciding to do Vert instead.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Vert was, in a word, pissed, and rightfully so.

This was not because she could no longer run her nation in her childlike form. In fact, she had full faith in Chika's ability to lead Leanbox and her army. She had been wanting to take a real break from her work for a long time too.

It wasn't because she couldn't play any of the new hit VR games either, as they would have instantly detected her age and shut her out from their system. She had lots of games to pass the time.

Nor was it because she was now too young to read any of her favorite manga anymore either. She could always read them digitally, and like with the games, she had a bountiful amount of material to read in her spare time. All of these little problems had nice and easy solutions to them.

Except for one.

Vert felt at her chest, her old clothes having been replaced with a more...kiddy version. For a long time, she continued to feel for what was no longer there, for what wouldn't be there for a long time, if ever.

Her petite body shuddered at the thought. Petite. That wasn't a word she had used for a long time, except to laugh at Blanc.

 _What if Blanc were to see me?_

She knew the answer already. She would never let her hear the end of it. In fact, she was probably laughing at her as she spoke, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"This body will take some getting used to, that's for sure." She whispered to herself. As if to spite her, she fell into a ditch, one that she would have very easily avoided had she had her adult form.

Something caught her nose, a smell she had never really appreciated before, and one that she was more than happy to smell after her non-stop travelling: salt.

A seagull cried from the distance, flying over the cape town in the horizon. A large ferry ship docked in the bay, and even further into the distance, the outline of her nation could be seen from afar. How she hadn't noticed it before surprised her a little, but I guess it could be attributed to the author's lazy-

She barely dodged the white mess that landed just in front of her. From above, the seagull circled back towards the ocean.

Slowly, she made her way into the town. The salty freshness of catches of fish lined the street she had been walking. From far and wide, people explored the food and picked out only the best of the best. While she would have loved to eat everything she could from here, she didn't have time to start cooking fish. She needed to get to Leanbox as soon as possible. Her people were probably worried for her.

A loud rumble from her stomach sent a flush of red across her face. She took a look around, searching for somewhere to eat before settling on a small restaurant nearby. Outside, a smiling lobster and shrimp could be seen.

 _This'll do nicely_

She made her way into the restaurant and was instantly greeted to more smells of fish. Not as fresh as what was outside, but it would do. She took a seat at a large table, admiring the sights of the restaurant, but was quickly greeted by a stern looking waitress.

"I'm sorry, but this is reserved seating. Please move to another table." Vert couldn't help but smirk at the woman.

"I don't think you know who I am. My name is-" She stopped herself clean, having completely forgotten just the kind of situation she was in. She looked to the waitress, who she had only served to piss off even more.

"I'll move…" She got out of her seat and made her way over to a smaller table. Not nearly as classy, but it would have to do. The waitress from before threw a kids menu onto the table in front of her. The smiling lobster wasn't looking nearly as cute anymore.

"Um, I don't mean to be rude again, but may I see another menu? Preferably one where I can get a fine lobster? I'll be happy to pay you extra for it too, as an apology of sorts."

She drew a skeptical glance at the _kid_ in front of her, asking for their finest lobsters.

"Look, kid. I'm not even supposed to let you in here without a parent, but you look like you need the food, so I'm not gonna ask any questions. Aside from what you want to order, of course." She stated with a forced smile she pretended not to get angered at.

"I...guess I'll take the fish sticks and fries."

She noted her order down onto her notepad, probably asking to sneak a few more onto her plate out of pity.

"And to drink?"

"A lemonade." Of course, normally, she would have look through their wines and bought the finest one she could alongside her lobster, but that would've certainly gotten her thrown out.

The waitress left her alone and returned to the kitchen. For the first time since the accident, she took notice of just how big the chair she was sitting in was. Surely, she would normally be able to touch the ground from her seat, and yet she was stuck with her feet dangling just above the floor.

The table was huge too, to the point she was almost at eye level in her seat. Additionally, the restaurant itself seemed massive and expanded infinitely outwards and upwards. She kept picking things up off the table and examining their size with great interest. It was only when she tried to wrap her tiny hands around a bottle of some kind of sauce that she noticed the waitress looking at her with interest.

"First time seeing something like that?" She dropped the plate in front of her, giving her a look of remorse. "You must have really had it rough, huh?"

"It's not like that at all. I've just...had a rough past few days. That's all." Her mind didn't register just what she had said until the waitress was looking at her with almost tears in her eyes.

"Nonono. I don't mean that kind of rough. I-"

The woman shook her head, still on the verge of crying.

"You don't need to explain anything. I think I understand enough. Please, eat as much as you can. Leave no crumb uneaten."

" _No, you don't understand enough."_ was what she wanted to say to her. What came out instead was:

"Thank you."

She took a bite into the fried goodness in front of her. In truth, it was far from the best meal she ever had. Quite far. And yet, she knew she didn't have to be urged to finish every crumb on the plate, as she did it anyways without hesitation. Even her lemonade, which she found way too sweet, was finished without a trace of a drop remaining.

She left the money on the table, rushing out before anyone could get any more ideas about her. It was rude, of course, but she didn't have time to think about things like that now.

The port was surprisingly close, barely a short walk through town. All along the sides of the road, merchants urged her to buy what they had to offer. People of all shapes and sizes slowed her way there, but she eventually made it to the massive building by the seaside. When she entered, she was once again greeted to an atmosphere that was expansive, though if she could have called the seafood restaurant in that way, that was nothing in comparison to what she was experiencing.

The long line for a ticket snaked around the port. She found it a little odd for it to be this busy, but she didn't have much of a choice. Minutes turned to hours, and by the time she got to the counter, the sky was cast in an orange glow.

"One ticket to Leanbox. I don't care where you seat me, as long as you can get me there." The man looked at her with the same look as the waitress from before. She was really beginning to hate the sight of it. He started talking in a microphone probably to a supervisor of some kind.

"We have a lost child trying to book a ticket to Leanbox. Should we check her with anyone with the town? Make sure she's not a runaway?"

Vert walked away with a pout and took a seat that overlooked the nation of Leanbox. Her nation. She was fine taking a break from her work, but she should at least be able to return to her own nation.

"Is there a problem?"

She went to yell at them, tell them that she was perfectly capable of acting on her own, but was thankful that she didn't. Her blue hair seemed to shine more than she had ever seen it before, and her voice had an oddly higher pitch to it, though that wasn't surprising. She may have been wearing very different clothing than usual, almost to the point of being unrecognizable, but she knew 5pb anywhere.

"I need to get back to Leanbox, but the mean men over there won't let me board myself."

She took some time to think over her predicament, looking back and forth between the counter and Vert.

"Well, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm going back to Leanbox tonight for a concert in a few days. You've probably heard of me, but my name's 5pb. Now, while I can't let a little girl like you board a ship like this by yourself, I can help you out." 5pb made her way to the men at the ticket counter and began talking with them. She gestured to her a few times, and while they seemed reluctant, she eventually got back to her with a smile over her face.

"One parent and child ticket. Civilian boarding. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." She replied a little skeptically. "Why civilian boarding? Can't you get a luxury room if you're such a celebrity?"

Her body seemed to shake at her question and her mind looked like it was repressing something.

"Well, if I get a luxury, I'll have to deal with fans and crowds and people requesting mentions at my concerts. If I can spend more time in the civilian cabins, then I can remain a little more hidden."

Vert took a look around at the room, now virtually empty except for the occasional fan glancing in their direction. She continued to hide her face away and make sure nobody would notice her.

"Come on, let's go."

With that said, she was promptly rushed on board the ship home.

* * *

For the most part, the ship was really nice. She rarely used it, as she often had access to her HDD to simply fly across the water without worries.

The civilian cabins were surprisingly spacious for their price. Maybe not the most aesthetically appealing with paint falling off in at least 10 different places, but she still found enjoyment.

She also found the time to explore the designated "Little Brothers and Sisters Fun Zone" which was complete with an arcade, ball pit, model Leanbox bounce house, and a giant caricatured statue of her in the center.

 _It's beautiful_

She couldn't stop admiring herself, but something about it continued to piss her off. Vert looked around and made sure nobody was looking before putting her plan into motion.

Starting with the legs, she inched her way up the statue's body. When she was high enough, she reached her arm towards the arm of the statue. By this point, she was now in a sort of triangle between the statue's legs, the statue's arm, and her own little body. She threw her other arm next to her other one and let her body hang over it, a task which was much more difficult than she had originally anticipated. With great effort, she heaved her way onto the arm of the statue and began walking towards the body. She knew she shouldn't look down, and yet she did anyways, instantly regretting the decision.

She felt her foot slip, but grabbed on before she could hurt herself. She had made this decision for herself, and she would see it through. Another shaky step forward, followed by another, and another. When she reached the body, she climbed up just a little more and rested her head.

"Ahh, how I've missed this feeling. She was impressed they had got the size about right, though she felt they could have been a little bigger. Not quite as plump either, but you couldn't have everything.

"I wonder if this is how Blanc feels when I hug her tight. Who wouldn't love this feeling, after all?"

For a solid minute, she felt her hand along the statue. It was nothing compared to the real thing, but it would have to do.

A familiar voice sounded from below.

"So, that's where you ran off to."

5pb stood just below her, shaking her head.

"Come on down from there. You're going to get yourself hurt."

She inched her way down the statue's chest only to stop. Her legs grew shaky as she realized just how _big_ of a drop she was facing.

"I don't think I can. I'm too high up." She knew her face was probably bright red at needing help to get down from such a short height, but it really did look scary. "Can you help me out, miss 5-"

She shushed her, bringing her attention to all the people around the room. Like when she had first met her, she was overly disguised to the point where she looked even less inconspicuous than if she had just gone out normally, but that was besides the point at the moment. She turned herself around and faced the other way. Before she could wonder what she was doing, she pointed to her shoulders.

"If you can get onto my shoulders, I can lower you to the ground, but you'll have to trust me."

Hesitantly, she lowered herself a little further, now almost to the point of slipping.

"I can't do it. I need you to come get me."

"You can do it. You're a brave girl. I can see it in you." She wasn't sure whether that was motivational or a roundabout way of saying "I don't want to have to come up there", but she took a deep breath, grabbing what she could on the statue and lowering herself onto 5pb's shoulders.

The view from her shoulders was something she had never really appreciated when she was an adult, but the feeling of being able to see everything felt like nothing she had ever seen before.

"Alright. I'm going to lower you now, so-"

"No. Please don't. Can you carry me around like this a little bit?"

For a few seconds, 5pb just stood there.

"Fine, I'll walk you back to our room, but know that you're in a lot of trouble for this little stunt. Understand?"

"Fair enough." She responded.

And so, towering above the rest, she made her way back to her room with a bright smile spread across her face.

* * *

Hours later, the ship announced that it had docked into the bay. Vert rushed to see her nation again for the first time in...she didn't even know how long. 5pb came from behind soon after with a crowd of passengers following suit. She noticed the amazement in her eyes.

"Just making sure: you do live here, right?"

Vert slowly nodded while still taking in the sights before her.

"Yeah. Sorry, I was just admiring the view."

"Well, I still have some time before my concert tonight. How about I go ahead and get you home?" She offered.

 _And maybe have a talk with the kind of parents that would leave a child like that._

"It shouldn't be too long of a walk." Vert responded. Her voice made it sound as if she was hiding something, but she wasn't sure.

"Alright. Lead the way."

.

.

.

"And we make a left here."

5pb wasn't paying attention, rather deciding to take in the sights. She felt like she had walked this route before.

.

.

.

"And a right…"

"Sure." She quietly responded. This was looking all too familiar.

.

.

.

"Straight here."

 _Why does this all feel so familiar?_

.

.

.

Vert stopped abruptly in front of 5pb, causing her to slightly lose her balance. After quickly recovering, she looked to her right to see the basilicom. 5pb gave her an empty stare.

"Very funny, but you really should get home."

Vert didn't listen, but instead walked straight through the door. 5pb rushed in after her.

"I'm sure they're very busy, so please, don't annoy the workers." Once again, she ignored her advice and raised her hands like a megaphone.

"CHIKAAAA! I'M HOOOOME!"

"Please, everyone. I'm sorry. I don't mean to disturb you, but does anyone know this girl's address?" Before she could speak more, Chika was descending the steps to the doorway of the basilicom.

"Why's everyone yelling?" She asked, her voice filled with a certain nervousness.

"Really sorry again to disturb you, Lady Chika. I was just on my way to getting this troublemaker out of the basilicom." Chika bent down, eyeing the girl with a look of perplexity.

"Vert…?" She confusedly asked.

"Finally, someone who recognizes me. I'll explain everything later. It's a long story."

"I'm sure it is. It's not everyday you just stroll into the basilicom like this." She said with shock.

5pb looked between the two of them, arguably more shocked than Chika was.

"Wait...Vert as in Lady Vert?

"Yep"

"Green Heart Vert?

"Mhm"

"Ruler of Leanbox Vert?"

"That's the one." The cheerful little girl replied, completely ignoring her presence.

"And why is this the first I'm hearing of this fact?" She questioned now a little more than annoyed.

"Because up until a minute ago, you would've never believed me, would you?"

"That's-" She didn't bother making a response, instead thinking back to her disguise and imagining herself forcefully trying to reveal herself. She thought of the skepticism that would inevitably result.

"-True." She finished.

Chika looked back at Vert, mentally frustrated.

"You've been gone for a solid week, I've been doing my best keeping this nation together in your absence while worried sick about your safety, and this is how you come home to me?"

"Hehe…"

"Don't 'hehe' me. How will you run Leanbox like this?" She asked.

Vert put a hand to her shoulder, staring deep into her soul.

"Not to worry. I trust you'll be able to keep it up until I'm back to my normal self."

"Thanks for the compliment, Vert, but that's not my point-"

"You'll do great. Don't worry. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some games to catch up on. I'll be in my room." Before Chika could scold her, she flew off in a green flash towards the upper levels of the basilicom.

 _She's hopeless._

* * *

Over the next few days, Vert held herself in her room with only the most basic essentials keeping her in there. Piles of games, manga and DVD's sat on the floor, all ready to be played whenever the wish came to her.

And yet, only one of those many options was of interest.

While digging through her collections after rushing into her room, she stumbled across an old show she had never found any interest in. It was a very long anime series, full of overpowered characters, stretched arcs, and heavy repetition. She scoffed at the idea of watching it, only buying because it came with a manga bundle for a little extra (which she had never read for the same reasons), and yet…

"Gigazon, you can't. You know you'll die if you use that sword." Adriana stated. Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, but I have to. Xandon cannot be allowed to succeed with his dastardly plan." He said with a metallic voice.

"No, Gigazon. It's a trap." Vert said out loud, bringing herself closer to the screen.

 _But wait...if Gigazon were to use the soul of champions from his father, then he could potentially kill him, but that would mean condemning the afterlife to destruction._

She could see his eyes. They were solemn. Lifeless.

"No way…" Vert said out loud. "There's no way he would destroy them, would he?"

"What about everything your father protected? Are you just going to let them all die? And for what? He'll come back again. You know he will." Adriana said.

"He won't."

"How can you be so sure?" She still had tears in her eyes, but the robot was still lifeless.

"Because I know something my father didn't."

 _Wait, what does he know? I thought he had no weaknesses._ Vert thought. _No, it can't be…_ She grew more and more excited as Gigazon walked into the distance, following the end of the episode. As the credits rolled, she thought back to what she knew.

 _If he were to use the soul of champions, that would mean that he would need power from both his world and the afterlife. We already have the power from the sword with Gigazon, but where will the power from the afterlife come from, unless…_

 _The soul blade was never destroyed._

 _If his father still had the soul blade, he could fuel the soul of champions, but it would take time. Way too much time. Time he surely didn't have..._

While she was thinking, her mind was directed to the home screen where the theme song was playing in the background.

"Better insert the next disc, then."

She opened the case, searching for the next disc only to find that there was nothing more in the case.

"Wow, that was nice, but I need to know. I'll watch one more episode and then I'll go to bed." She searched for the next season, only for her mind to stir into panic.

"Season 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8…9...10...11...Adriana spinoff...spinoff season 2….spinoff season 3..."

Nothing more. That was it.

"Ahhh, I need more." She cried out

She pushed herself out of her room, rushing out the door with cash in hand. With haste, she walked her way to the store.

 _Was it always this far?_

Vert stepped in through the doors and rushed to the back, searching the shelves for more of _Gigazon: Robot Wars_. When she didn't find it, she instead made her way to the counter.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know where I can find more of Gigazon?"

The man gave her a questionable look. She had started to grow tired of it, but this wasn't a "you're too young" look, but more genuinely judgemental.

"What's wrong? Vert asked.

"Nothing. You'll find some copies in the bin at the back."

She rushed to where he had pointed out, quickly finding piles upon piles of DVD's.

"Season 12...13...14...This is perfect." She walked back to the counter, dumping the DVD's onto the counter. Once again, the man gave her a questionable glance.

"What's that look for?"

"Well, I know you're just a kid, but surely you can see just how bad the writing is. If you want, I can give you a copy of something that I think is much better. What do you say?"

"No, I'm happy with just this, thank you." She responded angrily. She took the DVD's and made her way out the store.

"Suit yourself." He said from a distance.

Within a few short minutes, she was back in her room, putting in the next disc.

"I'll show him. Gigazon is great...though, I guess that art could look a little better." She hit play, prompting the iconic theme song to play.

 _This feels really fast paced. I never noticed that until now, actually._ She shook her head. _No, don't listen to him. It's great. He's just jealous._

And yet, as the episode went on, she couldn't stop criticizing one thing or another.

 _That sounded really bad._

 _Why does he need to use the soul of champions for that matter? He's shown throughout the series to be more than able to take on enemies on his level without any help._

 _Really? That seems lazy. I mean, really?_

 _Oh, come on. You can't just put that in out of nowhere_

When the episode ended, she shut the TV off and crawled into bed, getting rest for the first time in many days.

Maybe she should have taken his offer, after all.

* * *

Many years passed, and on a certain special day, Vert found herself in-line for a special concert. She had never really seemed to pay attention to birthdays due to the way she aged-or more specifically didn't-, but it felt all the more special now that she was experiencing it for real. Chika had urged her to go with something more formal, but she had insisted on wearing a t-shirt simply with the words "5pb" printed in bold letter on the front.

Quickly, Vert was escorted to a special party room. Many of the friends she had come to know over the years had shown up as well, slowly making their way in.

"Hey, nice party, Vert. Must feel nice to be named after our goddess, huh?" One of the girls, Nozomi, asked.

 _Yeah, named after._

"Of course. It really is an honor." She replied. Thankfully, Chika hadn't come to the party room directly as that would've sparked some questions she really didn't want to explain. More than likely, she was already inside, probably a few rows from where they would be sitting, ready to take pictures.

"This is pretty incredible. How did you manage to get us a party here?" Another one of her friends, Charlotte, asked.

"Well, my mom knows her a little, so she managed to talk her into this." She replied.

"That's amazing." Charlotte replied.

"Totally. I heard these are very rare for her, too. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Nozomi added.

The next hour was filled with guests arriving, more party games like "Pin the antenna on the idol" and Goddess Trivia (which she proceeded to come second, but *cough* only because she wanted to let Nozomi win).

And then, the main event began.

5pb walked in with Chika, carrying a cake with an electronic billboard on the side. Charlotte seemed disappointed.

"Everything okay?" Chika asked.

"Yeah, sorry. I just hoping to see Lady Vert. Would have loved to tell her of little Vert Jr. here. I thought she would have liked it."

The other party goers slowly grew disappointed as well. Vert shot Chika a look.

 _Help me_

 _What do you want me to do?_ Her glance responded. Vert would have to think of something fast.

"I heard that she's off fighting with the other CPU's on a very important mission. She talked to me when I was younger, and when I told her my name, she found it hilarious."

"Wow, really?" One of the group asked, the sister of one of her group.

"Yeah. I'm sure she'll be back soon, though." She replied.

Nozomi seemed to examine her a little.

"That's funny. You even look a little like her...actually, you look a lot like her, now that I think about it."

The idol in front of them cleared her throat, silently whispering "It's just a few kids" to herself under her breath.

"Alright, everyone. You all love cake, and you all love music, so why don't we combine them both?"

"Yeah!" Everyone cried out, even Vert who was a little excited over what was unfolding.

"Great! Would the birthday girl like to do the honors?" 5pb handed Vert a small plug, which she slipped into the wall socket nearby. The billboard slowly lit up into action. From it, lights were strategically sent to form a set of bars that waited along the side of the green laced cake. All of them grew closer to it.

"I'll be doing...a personalized...song for...all of...you." Vert could see her shaking a little. Nobody else seemed to be paying attention. "The bars will move with the music, and when it's done, you'll all get a nice slice. Everybody listening?"

Everybody in the room nodded, and to everyone's surprise, the lights were shut off. A spotlight and a set of lasers descended onto 5pb, and Vert was surprised that she wasn't falling over. Nobody seemed to care for her directly, most watching in awe as the bars along the cake moved with the music. While this looked to ease her nerves a little, her disappoint couldn't be completely hidden.

When it was finished, there was nothing but applause from the crowd.

"I'm glad you...enjoyed my...performance. I have a concert to prepare, so I hope you enjoy your cake and I'll see you all there." She made her way out with Chika following her lead.

"This has to be the BEST birthday ever." Nozomi stated.

"You really think so?" Vert asked, digging into the cake.

"Totally. A personalized performance, a real concert, and free cake? This is amazing." Charlotte added. She approached Vert, who was expecting a moment of surprise passion and closed her eyes as a result. Instead, however, she wiped a little napkin along her cheek, getting a little bit of icing that had been stuck there.

"Sorry, didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable. It was just bugging me a little."

Vert felt a little embarrassed.

"It's fine. My mind was somewhere else."

Before she could ask any further questions, a woman at the door gestured for them to line up.

"Your assigned seats are ready. You can take any leftover cake with you or leave it here. We'll be coming back here once the concert ends."

They walked out into the seating area, where a virtually empty front row spot was waiting for them. Excitedly, everyone ran to their seats, eagerly awaiting the performance. Within moments, 5pb was out on stage and cheers were erupting from all across the stadium.

"Thank you all for coming out tonight. I hope you all have a great time, and I'd like to give a special thanks to an extra special birthday girl in the crowd." A spotlight cast over the group, and more cheers erupted. A couple of them waved to parents who were probably in other parts to the crowd, some tears of joy were even shed. When she began singing, more cheers filled the stadium and Vert found herself cheering alongside them.

This really was the best birthday ever, wasn't it?

* * *

Slowly, the years passed one by one. Nozomi and Charlotte had both moved to Planeptune many years back, but had promised to never forget the magical night that they had experienced together. She thought she would be young forever, that she would never grow old again, that those magical nights would continue.

And then it happened.

It was all so sudden. She didn't even have to try, in truth. HDD just came to her.

"Chika, Chika. I'm back to normal again. I can finally run Leanbox again."

Chika looked at her in full HDD with a smile on her face.

"That's great, Vert. It's been a while, and I'm sure you're a little upset to leave that childish form, but you're back, and that's what matters."

"Yeah…" She responded a little depressingly. "Sorry, it's just that there's so much that I still wanted to experience, so much to do, and yet here I am."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but there's not much we can do. Unless we find another dogoo like the one you encountered, you can't go back. I'm not even sure it'll work again, even if you do."

A thought crept into Vert's mind.

"Chika, can you take care of things for a few more days? I think I may have an idea."

She went to protest, but she knew she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Take all the time you need. Let me know when you're ready."

Vert stepped her way into her room, throwing off piles of old games and searching for a specific item.

"Come on, it has to still be here."

Finally, she found what she wanted. She inserted the little disc into the player, watching the words "Gigazon: The Original Series" pop up on screen. She tapped play, and the exposition began.

 _In the beginning, there was only humanity, but very soon, robotkind began to dominate the earth._

She stared at the screen with a smile over her face. Looking back, the writing really was terrible, the animation sloppy, the character's one-dimensional...And yet, she was truly happy. She may not be able to take herself back to her childhood, but she could take her childhood back to her.

And this time, she was going to finish what she started, and nobody was going to tell her otherwise.

* * *

 **So, I really hope you enjoyed this, and I apologize. I really hope Blanc doesn't take me another three and a half months, but in case it does, I hope you can be patient with me until then.**

 **Until next update, I'm out.**


End file.
